Saint Jerome the Royal (in Spanish ''San Jerónimo el Real'') is a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy * Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

church from the early 16th-century in central

Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the Largest cities of the Europ ...

(

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

). The church, which has undergone numerous remodelings and restorations over the centuries is the remaining structure of the

Hieronymite The Hieronymites, also formally known as the Order of Saint Jerome ( la, Ordo Sancti Hieronymi; abbreviated OSH), is a Catholic cloistered religious order and a common name for several congregations of hermit monks living according to the Rule o ...

monastery that once stood beside the royal palace of Buen Retiro, of which a portion now serves as the

Prado The Prado Museum ( ; ), officially known as Museo Nacional del Prado, is the main Spanish national art museum, located in central Madrid. It is widely considered to house one of the world's finest collections of European art, dating from the ...

museum. Its proximity to the royal palace also underscores a connection to royalty, serving for centuries as the church used for the investiture of the

Prince of Asturias Prince or Princess of Asturias ( es, link=no, Príncipe/Princesa de Asturias; ast, Príncipe d'Asturies) is the main substantive title used by the heir apparent or heir presumptive to the throne of Spain. According to the Spanish Constitution ...

. In addition, a Mass to celebrate the investiture of King Juan Carlos I was held here. In part, this link was cemented also because Madrid only completed its Cathedral of the Almudena in 1993. For many centuries, the Church of San Isidro served as a de facto cathedral, but while this church was associated with the patron saint of Madrid, St. Isidore was also the patron of manual laborers, not royalty, thereby relegating the role of royal chapel to this church.

History

Iglesia Parroquial de San Jerónimo el Real, Madrid - 5

The

Hieronymus Hieronymus, in English pronounced or , is the Latin form of the Ancient Greek name (Hierṓnymos), meaning "with a sacred name". It corresponds to the English given name Jerome. Variants * Albanian: Jeronimi * Arabic: جيروم (Jerome) * Basq ...

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

had been built near the river Manzanares, during the reign of

Henry IV of Castile Henry IV of Castile ( Castilian: ''Enrique IV''; 5 January 1425 – 11 December 1474), King of Castile and León, nicknamed the Impotent, was the last of the weak late-medieval kings of Castile and León. During Henry's reign, the nobles became ...

(the impotent) in the neighborhood of the

El Pardo El Pardo is a ward (''barrio'') of Madrid belonging to the district of Fuencarral-El Pardo. As of 2008 its population was of 3,656. History The ward was first mentioned in 1405 and in 1950 was an autonomous municipality of the Community of Madri ...

palace. But suffering due to the marshiness of the site, during the reign of

Isabella I Isabella I ( es, Isabel I; 22 April 1451 – 26 November 1504), also called Isabella the Catholic (Spanish: ''la Católica''), was Queen of Castile from 1474 until her death in 1504, as well as Queen consort of Aragon from 1479 until 1504 by ...

, the Monastery of the Hieronymites was moved to a site next to an incipient royal palace. The new monastery was built in

Isabelline Gothic The Isabelline style, also called the Isabelline Gothic ( es, Gótico Isabelino), or Castilian late Gothic, was the dominant architectural style of the Crown of Castile during the reign of the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and ...

style. The church was chosen for the investiture of the Princes of

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensiv ...

and future king

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

on April 18, 1528. King

moved the Spanish court to Madrid in 1561, and had the retreat enlarged to become the

Palacio del Buen Retiro Buen Retiro Palace (Spanish: ''Palacio del Buen Retiro'') in Madrid was a large palace complex designed by the architect Alonso Carbonell (c. 1590–1660) and built on the orders of Philip IV of Spain as a secondary residence and place of recre ...

. He established a royal bedroom against the presbytery, such that he could hear mass from his bedroom. The Palacio del Buen Retiro was largely destroyed in the Napoleonic French occupation of Madrid. In 1808 the monks were expelled from the monastery and French troops were quartered in the monastery, causing major damage to the building, and the church was almost left in ruins.

Rehabilitations

The first major restoration was performed during the reign of

Isabel II of Spain Isabella II ( es, Isabel II; 10 October 1830 – 9 April 1904), was Queen of Spain from 29 September 1833 until 30 September 1868. Shortly before her birth, the King Ferdinand VII of Spain issued a Pragmatic Sanction to ensure the successi ...

, between 1848 and 1859, by the architect

Narciso Pascual Colomer Narciso Pascual Colomer, also known as Narciso Pascual y Colomer, (1808 in Madrid – 15 June 1870 in Lisboa) was a Spanish architect. He was one of the most important of the reign of Isabella II, an exponent of the late Neoclassicism and histori ...

, in the

style, who added some new elements such as towers. The second restoration, 1879 to 1883, by

Enrique María Repullés Enrique María Repullés, (30 October 1845 – 13 September 1922 in Madrid) was a Spanish architect. He was a member of the Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando along with Narciso Pascual Colomer and Ricardo Velázquez Bosco. Work in ...

, created the building as a parish church. Only a few external features remain of its original structure. The exterior remodeling of the nineteenth century in a

neo-Gothic Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic, neo-Gothic, or Gothick) is an architectural movement that began in the late 1740s in England. The movement gained momentum and expanded in the first half of the 19th century, as increasingly ...

style by

Pontian Ponzano Pontian may refer to: * Pope Pontian (died 235), 3rd-century Catholic Pope * Pontian Greeks, a group of ethnic Greeks traditionally from the Pontus and Pontic Mountains regions in northern Turkey * Pontian Islands, a group of islands on the coast ...

remains controversial. The stairway that faces the street, was constructed in 1906 on the occasion of the wedding of King Alfonso XIII to provide more impressive access to the church. For many decades, the Baroque cloister, designed by Fray Lorenzo de San Nicolás, remained in disrepair. Finally, in 2007, an agreement between the church and the government led to the appropriation of the land for the cloister by the Prado Museum. The inner courtyard facade was dismantled, and then rebuilt as a cubic room, designed by

Rafael Moneo José Rafael Moneo Vallés (born 9 May 1937) is a Spanish architect. He won the Pritzker Prize for architecture in 1996, the RIBA Royal Gold Medal in 2003 and La Biennale's Golden Lion in 2021. Biography Born in Tudela, Spain, Moneo studied at ...

in an expansion of the museum. The wing has been derisively labeled the ''Cubo de Moneo'', (Moneo's Cube).

Interior

The church contains sculptures by Benlliure,

Juan Pascual de Mena Juan Pascual de Mena (1707 in Villaseca de la Sagra – 16 April 1784, in Madrid) was a Spanish sculptor in the Neoclassical style. Life and work When he was barely five years old, his family moved to Madrid. He began his studies there and s ...

’s 18th-century ''Cristo de la Buena Muerte'', and paintings by

Vincenzo Carducci Vincenzio Carduccio (in Spanish, sometimes ''Vicencio'' or Vicente Carducho; 1576 or 1578–1638) was an Italian painter who spent his career in Spain. Biography He was born in Florence, and was trained as a painter by his brother B ...

and

José Méndez José Colmenar del Valle Méndez (January 2, 1885 – October 31, 1928) was a Cuban right-handed pitcher and manager in baseball's Negro leagues. Born in Cárdenas, Matanzas, he died at age 43 in Havana. Known in Cuba as ''El Diamante Negro'' ...

, neo-Gothic lamps and stained-glass windows.

Gallery

File:San-jeronimo-el-real-madrid-110321.jpg, Interior File:Madrid - Iglesia de San Jerónimo el Real 06.JPG, Head of gargoyle File:Madrid - Iglesia de San Jerónimo el Real 05.JPG, Detail of east facade.

External links

* WikiSource — Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/St. Jerome
short description
{{DEFAULTSORT:San Jeronimo el Real Jeronimo Monasteries in Madrid Isabelline architecture Gothic architecture in the Community of Madrid Renaissance architecture in Madrid Coronation church buildings Roman Catholic churches completed in 1505 Roman Catholic churches completed in 1612 Buildings and structures in Jerónimos neighborhood, Madrid 17th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Spain

History

Rehabilitations

Interior

Gallery

See also

External links